Being added to the mix in the future: cage-free eggs. The Chicago-based baked goods manufacturer is "making the move" to eggs from cage-free hens, said Marc Schulman, the 60-year-old president of family-owned Eli's.

Schulman is the second generation to run the business started by his father, Eli, who in 1940 opened a restaurant on Chicago's West Side. In 1962, Eli opened Eli's Stage Delicatessen on Oak Street, near the Rush Street nightlife area. It quickly became a draw for singles, the Gold Coast set and many stars of the era, including Woody Allen and Barbra Streisand, who would drop by for late-night suppers.

Eli's Cheesecake President Marc Schulman, interviewed Feb. 9, 2016, discusses his two most influential mentors, including his father, who started the company. (Becky Yerak / Chicago Tribune)

Eli's Cheesecake President Marc Schulman, interviewed Feb. 9, 2016, discusses his two most influential mentors, including his father, who started the company. (Becky Yerak / Chicago Tribune)

In 1966, Eli and his wife, Esther, opened Eli's the Place for Steak in what was then a luxury hotel on Chicago Avenue. The restaurant closed in 2005 to make room for what is now Lurie Children's Hospital.

Today, 220 employees make Eli's cheesecakes on Chicago's Northwest Side, in a facility built in 1996 after the company outgrew a plant a few blocks away. "You could have room to expand, and we have plans that we could double the size of the bakery," Schulman said.

Annual sales exceed $40 million for the privately held company, which uses more than 4 million pounds of cream cheese a year and sells its products at Jewel, Mariano's and independent grocers. It also makes a Frango cheesecake for Macy's and a Trinidads cheesecake for Fannie May. "In a given day we make more than 250,000 servings of Eli's Cheesecake and desserts," he said.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is among Eli's fans and is known to send the desserts as a thank-you to campaign donors and to a regular list of friends and family around the holidays. Last October, the Tribune reported that Emanuel's campaign owed nearly $54,000 to Eli's, a bill that has since been paid in full, according to Schulman.

Schulman, who left his career as a lawyer in 1984 to join his dad in the family business, recently sat down with the Tribune at the company's facility. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: How has business been?

A: We see a lot of growth in hotels, and you see a lot more interest in dining out. You always worry about the economy, and there are a lot of things that affect us, like the cost of commodities. We're a big user of cream cheese and a big user of butter. We ship a lot to Canada and England so right now, the dollar is very strong. It makes our product much more expensive there.

The biggest change is the whole overlay of food safety and regulations. That's good because we have to have confidence when we dine out. Our sales were up last year, and I think they were up about 10 percent.

Q: Is there pressure to add new products? What's new for 2016?

A. We're launching a line of individual tarts. We are really moving forward with this tart platform, and that's for food service. We will sell them at our kiosk at the United terminal at O'Hare and also at Hometown Sweets on the club level at the United Center.

Q: What's a new distribution channel for you?

A: The airline business. On Thanksgiving Day, United Airlines gave our pumpkin cheesecake tart to all of its passengers and is giving away our Belgian chocolate cheesecake tart for Valentine's Day.

Q: You export to such places as Europe, Asia and Saudi Arabia. What percentage of your business is exports?

A: Fifteen percent. It has been growing. The challenge now is the dollar.

Q: Portillo's was sold to a private equity firm. You must get overtures from strategic or financial buyers. Do you want to stay independent?

A: Never say never, but if you do private equity or a strategic sale, that's sort of it. If you sell your company, one of two things will happen. They're really going to screw it up, and then you're going to be upset, or they're going to grow it faster and you go, "God, I could've done that."

I like what I do. I very much like the people I work with. I think we work hard to make a difference in the community. It's not like I want to leave here and go do this somewhere else or start again.

Q: Are any of your kids involved in this business?

A: They're not, but I think they will be. I'm an only child.

Q: You mentioned food safety. Have you had to put more people in compliance for food safety?

A: It's the biggest change. We've always been about quality. But now everything is documented and quantified, and there are steps and sub-steps.

Q: Your father had a restaurant downtown. Have you ever thought about re-establishing a presence downtown?

A: We do have our kiosk at O'Hare airport, and have our retail operation here, but we've really focused on being a supplier to the industry. Earlier on, we did a cheesecake and muffin store in Hawthorn Mall. We realized it was draining our management's time.

Q: Do you have any plans to expand your shipping or to introduce delivery, by yourself or third party?

A: We do a direct business now via our online and catalog, and we do have the opportunity now for more local ordering. We're finding more ways to get products to our customer the same day.

We partner with UPS for next day and second-day delivery. We have now partnered with Chicago Messenger to deliver the same day — either for single cheesecakes or a catering order.

Q: What about changing your recipes to make them more natural or healthy or local?

A: We do adapt. We make a great vegan cheesecake, and we work with Phoenix Bean, a local tofu supplier. We're very involved with the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences, where we get our honey. When we can source locally, we do. We use lots of cherries and blueberries from Michigan. We have great local suppliers, like Nielsen-Massey.

Q: What are your thoughts on the presidential election?

A: The most famous moment in Eli's history was in 1992 when Bill and Hillary Clinton came here on the eve of the Illinois primary. We did cheesecakes for both of President Clinton's inaugurals, and we've done cheesecakes for both of President Obama's inaugurals. We did both Hillary Clinton's and President Obama's 50th birthday cakes.

A version of this article appeared in print on February 14, 2016, in the Business section of the Chicago Tribune with the headline "Eli's hopes tarts line takes flight - Cheesecake giant taps into airline business" —
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